“Many previous attempts to image these digital polyester materials were via an imagesetter, adapted to become a platemaker, and many of these failed,” explains Apex joint managing director Bob Usher. This was due to the fact that imagesetters were designed to produce a galley of film, which was subsequently manually cut to size and registered against a metal plate in a printdown frame.

How it works
The DPX works by firstly punching the plate to fit the press clamp registration pins, then cuts the plates to fit the printing press. The laser ‘paints’ the image square to the punch holes before processing and drying the plate to deliver it pressready. “The accuracy of this system means four plates are positioned within 0.25mm of one another,” says Usher.

As it is fully automatic, and a closed-box machine, it can be run in daylight, without the need for yellow or red safe lights. With a small footprint of 1x1.3m, it saves space and can be put in the corner of a room with no plumbing required. It has two separate roll compartments, enabling customers with different press sizes to change rolls without wasting material through fogging after exposure to the light.

The DPX System is one of three products in the DPX family. The other two are the entry-level Genesis and the 5080, which is a portrait-only device without plate punching. The DPX System outsold its counterpart machines by four-to-one and has formed a large percentage of the 500 DPX platesetters that Apex has sold over the past decade. The 5080 and the Genesis models ceased manufacture in 2005.

The DPX can image plates for landscape and portrait format presses up to 52cm wide. It uses visible red laser technology and an internal vacuum drum. The maximum resolution that can be achieved is 3,600dpi.

“The platesetter uses 61m-length rolls of dot-print polyester plate material. These can be purchased in different sizes to accommodate the various press sizes on the market,” Usher explains. Plates are fed into the vacuum drum and punched according to the clamps on the target press. After imaging, the plates are transferred to the built-in processing unit where the image is developed. The final output is dry plates ready to mount on press and print from.

An early version of the DPX System, the 420, was only capable of imaging for 52cm presses. After Heidelberg launched the SM52 press with a larger plate size of 459x525mm, a wider System version was launched. In 2006, the manufacturing rights were sold to ECRM, which upgraded the machine and christened it the DPX2. The machine is driven by a Harlequin RIP, early models were installed with a 2.3 level RIP and today’s units are sold with level 7.1 RIPs.

Extra plate width is not an upgradeable option, however, devices made after 1998 can be purchased with RIP upgrade to the latest level. The list price of a new DPX System is £32,950 with extra roll components costing another £2,500 each.

Upgradeable RIPs
“As the sole UK dealer, we will generally re-purchase used machines,” says Usher. “These units are refurbished and re-sold with upgradeable RIP’s and a new warranty.” Apex has more than 30 service employees nationwide and spare parts for models made after 1998 are readily available.

Apex offers three levels of service contract, from a basic three-call agreement to a fully inclusive arrangement. Although most secondhand sales go through Apex, it is happy to offer support to firms that have bought elsewhere.

The price of a secondhand unit depends on whether the owner has kept their RIP up-to-date. A guideline price for a 2000 model, before it is refurbished, and assuming the RIP is less than 12 months old, is between £4,000 and £6,000.

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SPECIFICATIONS
Max plate size
• 459x525mm
Laser
• visible red light technology
Max resolution
• 3,600dpi
Price
• New: £32,950
• Additional punches £2,500 per set
• With extra roll compartments add £2,500
• Used: 2000 model
• (with up-to-date RIP) £4,000-£6,000
What to look for
• Updated RIP
• Post-1998 model for better part availability